Vertically reciprocating sifting chute



Jan. 2, 1951 J. J. scHUNcK VERTICALLY RECIPROCATINGV SIFTING CHUTE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 51, 1946 i /A/vf/v To@ dose-PH u! cHwvc/v Arrofve/ l Jan' 2 1951 .1. J. scHuNcK 2,536,471

VERTICALLY RECIPROCATING SIF'TING CHUTE Filed Dec. 31, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T24 2/ zz do SEPH A SCH u/vck Patented Jan. 2, 1951 Joseph2 J.; Sehnlich' Orlando, FII, wiener; to.

Amction Machinery Corporation, Fla., a corporation of Florida- Orlando,

Apglicanon December a1, 154e, semi No. 'nas-2s 5 claims. (ci. aca-25u This invention relates to chutes tor machines that process produce, such as fruits and vegeta-` bles, and more particularly toV that type of chute that. is adapted to remove the greater bulle oi dirt, stems, leaves and like trash, that. is col lected with the produce, before the produce is subjected to the actual treating steps of the process.

In machines for handlingprod-uce, a typical chute construction comprises a. dumpl hoard, which is a. ledge upon which containers. filled with the produce, may beset-1 a slat. dump., which is a downwardly inclined. gratingnext to the dump. board and upon which the produce is dumped, and` a conveyor adjacent the lower end of the grating upon which the produce will roll from the grating and be conveyed to a treating machine, such as a washer or the like. W'herI the produce is. dumped onto the inclined grating, any trash, such as dirt, leaves, stems and the like, is supposed toy be separated from the produce by dropping through the grating. Consequently, the produce is supposed to be relatively clean when. it rolls onto the conveyor. The conveyor may partake ola varietyy of forms and may com.- prise a ser-ies of rotatablyy driven rollers or an endless conveyor in the form of a belt or comprising spaced slats or rollers.

A machine equipped with chutes of this type are more-or-less satisfactory when employed with relatively clean produce such as treeg-rown fruits, but it is entirely unsatisfactory wthrrespec-t to produce, such as potatoes and other earth-grown vegetables, which are rather dirtyfwfhen collected. Even with the so-.c-alled clean produce the machine is not highly satisfactory due to lthe fact that stems, leaves and the like are not necessarily removedV and, in the case of certain vegetables-,such as cucumbers and tomatoes, which may carry a small' amount of surface dirt,4 there has been very little clean,- ing or separating accomplished.

4,to a preferred embodiment of the invention, by

form-ingthe chute .of a slatted grat-ing and are ranging` it. to be; .agitated or vibrated vertically vin Vorderto` shake the dirtj and trash from the produce and to causo the dirt. and trash to grav-ie tate through the grating immediately. :Snecma @alla the gratins is. formed of a plurality of roda bora slots or the like that are arranged. moro--V orders longitudinally of. the line of trav-oli off the produce and have. their upper ends adjust-.ably andv loosely oivotally mounted and their lower ends connected to a orosemembor.. The gratins.. asa unit, is shaken up and down and a cross bar is mounted beneath the gratins. to limit its downward movement and to Stop the movement suddenlyV or with a. jolt so. as to shake the dirt and trash` from the, produce and to cause it to erlovitatebetween the members of the grating...

The gratingis caused to shake or vibrate by having; its lower connectingcroSs-bar :positioned sotloat. it rides upon the adjacent ends. of o oonveyor that. comprises an endless member which is preferably formed of rollers but may comprise slats or other similar members that are spaced apart Bv means of this a.rrangement,l the lower end ci the gratins is raised by Contact with one of the elements of the conveyor and then drops. as the contacting element4 moves forwardly vfrom beneath the grating, In order to provide freedom of movement of the LID-Der end of the grating and cdiustahlty relative to the adjacent orioy of. the. conveyor. the members forming. the

stating are. inserted loosely through oversize Having in mind the defects of the prior art.. y

a processing machine and in such manner that the chute will be agitated by the conveying means.;` It is contemplated that such apparatus may be incorporated as por-t. ot a treating olaohne 'or that it may comprise a unitarymember in thejj' for-m of an attachment that is adapted toned.

with oit-hol.' a Sour-,oe oi ein. for blowing. any remaining flirt-from the produce and between the apertures ina cross member of. the the souper-tf ine, tierna and a. lmite-cl number of the grating ers ere-.threaded at. their upper ends and 'have `outs threaded thereon to hold those momf here' relative. to. the. cross member.

ALS, the direction oi drive of the. conveyor tends tooull the grating longitudinally, the nuts on the threaded members oct as Stops to hold. the grat losN against. t is longitudinal pull and. by afitlie'iiuto,` the lower' ond of the. grating -be adiusted relative to theA conveyor. If, dof

a series oik spray nozzles may be posiabove the conveyor and may be. connected understood from the following. description of a speciiic embodiment when read in connectionY of the invention comprises an inclined grating I l immediately between a dump board Ii) and a conveyor I2, the lower end ofthe chute II resting upon Vthe conveyor to `'be 'vibrated thereby, In operation, a container- C filled withproduce P may be set on-the dump'bo'ard'l and then tilted to dump the produce P onto the lchute I I When the Vproduce Pyis soldurnpedfit rolls and slides down the incline thereof and onto-the conveyor I 2, while the dirt, stemsf-twigspleaves and other trash v gravitate through spaced longitudinal -slots oropenings in the chute II onto an'inclinedI from beneath the machine. Y 'A As best vshown in Figs. 2 and 3,the chute-II is formed of a plurality'of rods I5 rthatare sur'- collection trough'|3. down whi'chit may slide rounded by soft covers I5, such-as rubber tubing,

to protect the produce from abrasion or bruising. The rods I5 extend substantially longitudinally *in thedirection' of movement of the articles that move over the chute Ybut-"do angle outwardly slightly at their upper ends to provide-a wider l Vfeed orV dump area; The lowerends I1 of the rods I5Y are fixed to an end member I6 whichis to rest on the conveyor I2 and is preferably circular in cross section and may be formed by a section'of tubing. In the preferredv form, the rods have their lower ends I1 bent at right angles immediately before their juncture with the cross ybar IE so that the lower end of the chute II will be slightly above the plane of the conveyor I2. An end frame member V2 I is connected to the other or upper ends 23 ofY the rods I5 and is provided with a Aplurality of aligned, spaced apertures 22, each of which is considerably larger than the diameters of the-rods to loosely receive the upper end of one of the rods I5 `and aidsin the shaking vibra- Vtory movement ofthe chute. The upper ends 23 of the rods I5 are .not connected to each other but are held together bythe lower end member I6 and, consequently, they may be freely inserted inthe apertures 22. Some of the rods I5, preferably at least one adjacent each side of the chute, are provided with threads 24 at their upper ends 23 and have nuts 25 threaded thereon to' form adjustably-positioned stops relative to thersupporting flange 2l. By adjusting the nuts 25, the Y 4 rods I5 to limit the lower angular position of the chute I I and to form a shock bar.

In practice the lower end member I6 of the chute rests upon the end portion of the upper reach 34 of the conveyor I2 adjacent its sprocket 32 and the conveyor may comprise a plurality of transversely-positioned, parallelly-spaced members 33 that have their ends supported by endless chains 3l, one on each side of the conveyor I2.

The members 30 may be in the form of rollers, l

nights, slats or the like, but it is preferred that "they comprise rollers that are journaled in the chains 3l so that they may rotate freely on rail 35.` The chains 3I are run over sprockets 32 and 33 which are mounted on the opposite, ends of the machine andone of which, preferably the sprocket 33,. may be driven by a suitable source Y of power (not shown).

Y also, taking advantage of gravity, jolts the refuse chute I I may be adjusted either angularly or" Vlongitudinallyof the 'machine to position end ses. member 2B meer. espose@ been e@ The nuts may be adjusted so that the end member I6 of the chute II is properly positioned to ride onthe end of the conveyor I2. More specically, the end member I6 should be positioned-So as to contact the rollers as-they are brought up and around the sprockets 32. Thus, each rollerA 30 will raise the end member I6 as it passes thereunder, after which the end'member I6 will drop back behind the roller that has immediately passed thereunder and above or in front of the next succeeding roller 33. Therefore, as the conveyor l2 is .drivenfeach of'its bedforming elements 30 will'pass'beneath the cross member I6 ofthe grating II to raise and lower the grating Vand thereby agitate or vibrate it in a vertical direction.- When vthe grating'II drops from each of therollers 30, it is stopped abruptly in its fall by the shockbar 25. This shock action knocks ythe dirt and `trash from the produce and so that it passes through the grating II and falls to the discharge chute I3. This shock allows the entire. chute Yto vibrate with a sliding or quivering motion due to the ends 23 of Ythe-rods I5 being loose in the openings 22.

Customarily, the produce is discharged at 44 by the conveyor I2 to a suitable treating machine, such as a washer, waxer, brusher or the like. `In the .present instance, however, and in order to remove all of the dirt, and possibly eliminate the,

necessity for an additional machine, a series of air or water spray nozzles 31 may be positioned chute 44, brackets 46 and 41 for journaling shafts chute I3, the side walls 52, side plates 53 for de' iining the sides of the dump chute, the dump board I l), the-shock bar 26. the` top cross frame 20 and the Vslat dump or grating I I. y

If desired, the slat dump II and its support may be provided as a separate assembly that comprises siderframes which may be joined at lone Yend by the dump ,board IIl and atthe` other end by the shock bar 26 and provided, at the rear edge f the dump board I0, with an upstanding wall 6I to which may be attached the cross frame 20 and the slat dump or grating II. This assembly may be removably secured in any suitable type of machine as by bolts 63. Any standard machine may be modified to include a vibratory slat dump by removing the rigid slat dump, if there is one, boring the series of apertures 22 in the upper cross frame 20 and inserting the free ends 23 of the grating rods I 5 within the bored apertures.

In the operation of the present invention the operator may set a container C, filled with produce P, upon the dump board I0 and then tilt the container C against the cross frame 20 so as to spill the produce P onto the chute II. As the conveyor I2 is advanced, each of its spaced bedforming elements 30 will raise the end bar I6 of the chute II and, as each moves beyond the end member I5, the rods I of the chute II, because of the loose connections at 22, drop until they strike the shock bar 26 with a sudden jolt.

When the produce P is dumped onto the chute II, some of the dirt and trash that is accumulated with the produce becomes loosened and falls to or between the rods I5 of the chute II. All of the trash is not removed at this time, however, as some of it cannot readily pass between the rods I5 and some of it is not loosened from the produce P. When the chute I I is raised or thrown up, by the action of the conveyor elements, some of the adhering trash is shaken loose and then when the chute is dropped and stopped abruptly by the shock bar 26, the majority of the remainder of the trash is knocked from the produce. In addition, the loose trash which has not fallen between the rods I5, is shaken through the grating by the jolt that is created by striking the shock bar 26.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted eXcept insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

That which is claimed as new is:

1. A chute structure of the character described, comprising, in combination, framework including side frames, a slat chute having upper and lower cross frame members and spaced slat members extending between and supported at their opposite ends by said cross frame members, said upper cross frame member being hingedly mounted on and between said side frames, and a jolt bar mounted on and between said side frames at a level lower than said hingedly mounted slat chute upper cross frame member and forwardly thereof a distance less than the length of the slat chute, said slat chute resting loosely in inclined position on said jolt bar, the lower end of said slat chute being free and its lower cross frame member being accessible for swingingly lifting the slat chute off of said jolt bar and dropping the slat chute down on the jolt bar.

2. A chute structure as set forth in claim 1 and in which the slat members have their lower end portions adjacent the slat chute lower cross frame member bent downwardly at an angle to their main body portions.

3. In produce cleaning apparatus of the character described, in combination, an endless chain cleaning conveyor having an endless succession of exteriorly extending protuberances, framework including side frames and a cross jolt bar, a slat chute hingedly mounted at its upper end on and between said side frames and resting loosely intermediate its ends in downwardly inclined position on said jolt bar, said slat chute having across its lower end a cross member positioned in the path of movement of said exteriorly extending protuberances of said cleaning conveyor, whereby each of said protuberances as they pass in succession past said slat chute cross member lifts the slat chute from said jolt bar and then drops the slatchute down on the jolt bar.

4. In produce cleaning apparatus as set forth in claim 3 and in which slat members extend longitudinally of the chute and have their end portions adjacent the cross member at the lower end of the chute bent downwardly at an angle to their main or body portions and the main or body portions of said slat members are elevated above the adjacent part of the cleaning conveyor.

5. In produce cleaning apparatus of the character described, in combination, an endless chain cleaning conveyor having an endless succession of live cross rollers, framework including side frames and a cross jolt bar, a slat chute hingedly mounted at its upper end on and between said side frames and resting loosely intermediate its ends in downwardly inclined position on said jolt bar, said slat chute having across its lower end a tubular cross member positioned in the path of movement of said conveyor rollers, said rollers as they pass in succession past said .slat chute lower cross member successively engaging said cross member and alternately lifting the slat chute off of said jolt bar and dropping the slat chute down on the jolt bar.

JOSEPH J. SCHUNCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 3,852 Chandler et al. Dec. 7, 1844 15,785 Smith Sept. 23, 1856 206,544 Davis et al. July 30, 1878 595,523 Cherry et al. Dec. 14, 1897 786,291 Hubbell Apr. 4, 1905 947,742 Rohrbach Jan. 25, 1910 1,655,871 Lum Jan. 10, 1928 1,708,137 Helenbolt Apr. 9, 1929 1,811,991 Bates June 30, 1931 1,844,091 Hill Feb. 9, 1932 2,316,159 Evett Apr. 13, 1943 

